Prison Guards Thwart Escape By Two Killers

August 23, 2002|By Kevin Krause Staff Writer

Two convicted killers serving life sentences at the South Bay Correctional Institute escaped through a window Thursday and were caught trying to hop a fence during an early-morning escape attempt, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

James Stine, 35, and Steven Cintron, 27, were unarmed but had brought a change of clothes that they tossed over the fence, the Sheriff's Office said.

They were charged with attempted escape and criminal mischief and taken to the Belle Glade Jail. Wackenhut, a private company contracted by the state to operate the prison, is conducting an internal investigation, said spokeswoman Margaret Pearson.

The men were housed in a 320-bed open dormitory at the medium-security prison 22 miles west of West Palm Beach on U.S. Highway 27 South, she said. About 3:30 a.m., they made their way to the open day room in the center of the dorm where they removed a window bar and kicked out the window, the Sheriff's Office said.

They scaled one perimeter fence and were about to climb over the outer one when guards noticed and apprehended them, a sheriff's report said. Pearson said she could not comment on specifics until the internal investigation is completed.

Stine, of Gainesville, began serving his life sentence in August 1995 for first-degree murder in Alachua County. Cintron, of Fort Myers, began his sentence in March 1996 for first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon and burglary in Lee County.

Three years ago, two other men attempted a similar escape.

Lacey Simmons, 31, and Alfred C. Dinkins, 28, escaped the prison by leaving the horticulture room and stacking chairs on top of a cart to scale a razor-wire fence, police said.

Once they scaled the fence, Simmons and Dinkins jumped off a roof near the main gate, then scaled another series of fences. At that time, a correctional officer noticed Simmons and caught him 15 minutes later. Dinkins was found behind the Budget Inn in nearby Belle Glade, police said.